11 Feb 2016

Manufacturing activity still rising

10:56 am on 11 February 2016

Activity in the manufacturing sector is continuing to pick up pace.

The BNZ-Performance of Manufacturing Index climbed 0.9 points to 57.9 in January. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

Last month's result marks the highest level of growth since October 2014.

Production and employment picked up pace, while new orders dipped a touch but still remained at expansion level.

BNZ senior economist Craig Ebert said the employment indicator was still sturdy and gave confidence that staffing levels in the sector would continue to expand.